Taking a Chance
by SakuraSkyes
Summary: A regular day beginning with open hearts. GSR
1. Working Hard

Author's Notes: Not mine, almost wish they were tho :-)

I technically consider the setting as post-Secrets & Flies, no spoilers in this section that I can see.

Taking A Chance

Part I: Working Hard

Gil Grissom sat in his office drinking a cup of cold coffee. It was cold because he had been sitting there for a long time. In fact, a very long time. He was beginning to inadvertently memorize the words on the case processing papers from filling them out so many times. The cases kept coming - the bodies, the evidence, the stories, the crime. It never stopped, never took a vacation. And therefore neither did the paperwork.

So now, here was Grissom. Sitting at a desk pouring over the said paperwork that unfortunately went hand in hand with the rest of his job. He had been at this for hours, catching up on dozens of cases he had never had a chance to go through.

Surprisingly, there was a knock on the door. Surprising because he had turned the blinds down on his windows - his trademark "Do not disturb" signal. He looked up curiously. He took off his glasses and sat back, "Come in."

The knob turned and the door opened wide enough for a head to squeeze through. A brown head belonging to one Greg Sanders came into view.

"Hey, sorry to bother; I thought you'd want to know the results came back on the Haley Macabee case. Marcus Finch - the ex husband - his prints were all over the gun. Warrick and Nick went to make the arrest. Shift ends in half an hour, Sophia and Catherine are coming back from processing a case, and Sara's gathering the rest of the finished case files for you to write up."

Grissom sat silently and gave an appreciative nod, sighing a little. "Thank you, Greg." The lab tech began closing the door but stopped at the sound of his boss's voice. "Hey. If you keep this up, maybe I'll appoint you as my personal secretary."

An appreciative laugh. "Thanks, but no thanks. You couldn't pay me enough. 'Night, Griss." And with that Greg left, a smirk on his face.

Gil watched the door as it shut, sighing again and standing up. He walked to the windows and opened the blinds, deciding to take a break. 'Take a break, yeah. I need a vacation is more like it.' It wasn't that he didn't enjoy his job, in fact, he loved it. Nothing excited him more than putting together the puzzle pieces of a crime, honing his skills to catch the bad guy. But everyone needs time to sit back and relax - even if they work at something they love.

He peered into his coffee cup and stuck a tentative pinky in. Just as he thought -currently undrinkable. He headed to the break room with the cup, deciding to visit the resident microwave for a moment. Once there he saw the sign on the counter that reminded him - the microwave was broken. He shook his head and turned to the coffee machine, wondering if he should bother making a new batch before shift ended.

'Forget it. I have a headache anyway, might as well take some aspirin instead.' He left his cup and turned around, heading back the way he came. Right when he got to the doorway of his office he noticed someone in his chair already. It was Sara. She was turned to the side looking at his book collection, oblivious to his presence.

He pondered her a moment before speaking up. "Hey, is this a sign I should be worried for my job?" He leaned against the frame, arms crossed.

He was surprised when she didn't turn, her voice sounding tired and dull. "No, no need to worry. I've got a long way to go before I meet you on the ladder." She looked up with a small smile, her eyes giving away her state of exhaustion.

"Hard day, huh?" Grissom stepped further into the office, sitting on the corner of his desk facing her, hands in his lap.

"Not hard, just..." she was at a loss for words. Her brain definitely wasn't cooperating in her current state.

"...weary?" Grissom offered.

Sara nodded in agreement, closing her eyes with her head on the chair. She spoke like that, a faint whisper escaping her lips, "Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if I hadn't come here. If I had stayed in San Fran."

Grissom looked at her curiously, wondering what she was getting at. "Do you regret coming here?" His voice was quieter than he meant it, probably a subconscious mimic of hers.

She peeked out of one eye at first, then both opened into little slits. "Regret?" He nodded; she looked out the windows of his office. She stared for a few moments before answering. "I dunno," she turned back to him, "I just wonder sometimes, ya know? Kind of like the choices all these people make to go out and kill their friends and family, people they don't even know...," a pause, she tilted her head, "If it were all different, would it matter? Would I be any happier back there, or here, or Timbuktu?"

He studied her face as she stared at him, slowly formulating a response. "I think...how happy you are is not so much about where you are, but maybe about what you do with the where, the when and the why." Grissom smiled at her kindly, leaning in slightly, "Although I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like Timbuktu. It's kind of dead since the whole change of trade routes and all."

Sara laughed a little, getting up out of the chair. She walked around the desk and turned back to Grissom, watching as he turned to stand in front of his chair but not sit. "I brought the remaining case files, thought I'd save you the trip." She watched as he opened his desk drawer and took out a bottle of aspirin.

"Headache?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and rubbing her arms slightly at the chill in the office. He nodded, popping 2 pills into his mouth and taking a drink from the water bottle on the corner of his desk.

"I get them from time to time; I've deduced a possible direct correlation between the pain in my head and how many years of life I've cumulatively spent filling out paperwork for cases." He pointed to the stack of manila folders sitting neatly on his desk, right next to the small pile Sara had set on his desk on her arrival.

Sara nodded in understanding. "Well...hey, shift is over in a few minutes, how 'bout we grab what's left and I'll help you finish them over breakfast at the diner?"

Grissom looked at her with an eyebrow raise similar to the one she had given him a minute before. "Shouldn't you go home and rest? A moment ago I was afraid I you would pass out in my chair."

She shrugged, "I wouldn't be able to sleep right now anyway. I had two double shots of espresso two hours ago. I'm tired, but wired," she smirked at her unintended quip.

Grissom thought about this a moment, looking at his watch. It was 5:53am, and he was pretty hungry. And with Sara's help he could have the paperwork done by 8, go home, take a shower, and fall asleep before time turned double digit.

"Okay. But you're sure you want to help? You know I can't pay you overtime." He looked at her skeptically.

"Yeah, sure. I probably worked half those cases anyway. Might as well finish the job, right?" With that she picked up the stack she had placed on the desk, turning away from Grissom and heading for the door. She turned her head before walking out, "I need to grab some stuff from my locker, I'll meet you out front. We can take your car."

----

Next Chapter ETA: November 12.

Read & Review please :-)


	2. The Diner Experience

Disclaimer: See first part

AN: SO sorry I didn't get this posted Saturday, but I moved into an off campus apartment and we don't have internet yet. I had to wait till today when I'm on campus to pick up a wireless connection :-)

This is kind of a filler chapter, a segway to the good stuff

Chapter 2: The Diner Experience

She left, leaving Grissom to gather his things and lock his office up. He quickly punched out and exited the building. Once outside his eyes roamed the parking lot before finally landing on the lanky form of his former student as she walked toward his car. He quickly met up with her, opening the driver's side door and climbing in. He pressed a button to unlock the other doors, watching as Sara settled into her seat, strapping herself in.

He twisted around to stick his briefcase in the back. "I'll take those," Grissom held out his hand to Sara for the stack of files, grabbing them and placing them atop the briefcase. He turned to Sara as he started the engine, "Let's get out of here."

The drive was short, mostly due to the diner being less than even a quarter mile from the lab. They walked in with their papers, choosing a booth against the far wall, keeping a good distance from the dawn of day panning in through the windows. Grissom ordered black coffee for the time being, Sara opting for orange juice.

"Those double shots must really have you going. This is the first time I've seen you pass up caffeine at breakfast," Grissom's eyes twinkled.

Sara opened a case file and took out a pen, writing as she spoke, "Yeah, but how many times have you seen me at breakfast?" She looked at him knowingly.

"Aha, and now you know why I never assume to know anyone," he took a sip of coffee and began looking through his own set of papers.

The time passed in relative silence, the only interruption coming when the waitress brought their food - Sara's plate contained buttered biscuits, a banana, orange slices, and half a hash-brown; Grissom chose a light meal of fried eggs, bacon, and a single biscuit. Clanking dishes and utensils, scribbling pens, and tired sighs filled an hour and a half, coming to a halt as the waitress took their dishes and left the bill.

Fifteen minutes later Sara closed the last case file, looking up at Grissom. "Done. How's your end coming?" She glanced at the paper in front of him.

He finished signing his name at the bottom under "I testify to the validity of this document under penalty of law", closing the folder and putting Sara's completed files on top of his.

He looked her in the eyes, "Mission accomplished. What do you say we get out of here?" He pulled out his wallet when she nodded an affirmative. "Consider this meal on me," he gave a friendly smile.

"You sure?" He nodded. Grissom laid down the bill amount and a 15 tip, grabbing all the files and heading to the door ahead of Sara. He fought with it for only a moment before Sara came to his rescue, "Ya know you don't always have to be a gentleman, Griss." She smirked as he walked through the door without a response.

The morning was cool, a light breeze making Sara shiver slightly as she walked back to the truck. The sun was blocked by puffy clouds and she could hear birds chirping around the parking lot. She watched Grissom as he opened his briefcase in the back seat and stuffed all the papers in it. Pulling his head back out of the car he made eye contact with Sara. She smiled a little uneasily when he didn't break contact.

Grissom thought a moment as he looked at the woman in front of him. He smiled at her almost shyly, feeling like he hadn't really seen her in a long time - something he had felt often in the past few years. "...We...haven't spent much time together lately - outside the lab, I mean - have we?"

Sara was taken aback by the question, it was definitely unexpected from someone like Grissom. "Well, if you're talking about...the two of us...alone...together...I suppose not, no," she wasn't sure where to go with this conversation.

She watched as Grissom checked his watch and scanned the area around him, wondering what was going on in his reclusive mind. Finally he looked back at her with one of those tilted Grissom looks, "Do you have anywhere to be today?"

"Um, no, not particularly. Just home...sleep...stare at my ceiling, the usual," she shrugged.

"Good, then there's someplace I want to bring you. Get in." He pointed to the car as he walked around to the driver's side.

Sara cocked an eye, giving him an odd look. He just smiled and finally she gave up trying to understand, stepping into the car with a shrug. Once they were strapped in he took off, heading in the opposite direction of the lab.

----

Next chapter ETA: Saturday, November 19


	3. The Grave Truth

Author Notes: I'm glad I always put ETA instead of "this is definitely when I will update" because yea...I'm not very on-time

Also, I'm usually way too lazy when I post to do last-minute betas, so hopefully while i reread it a million times mid-writing, I do a good clean up job :-)

Taking a Chance

Chapter 3: The Grave Truth

A few minutes passed as the vehicle drove on before Sara felt the need to say something. "Grissom, where exactly are we going? This seems pretty cliche, even for you."

An almost unnoticeable smirk graced his face, "Sara, in all the years you've known me, have I ever given you reason to doubt me?"

She pondered this a moment, "Well..."

At this Grissom gave her a confused look, then turned back to the road, going back between the two.

"No, not really. But that still doesn't answer my question."

Grissom let out a breath, "Patience, Sara. It's a virtue."

"Don't I know it," Sara whispered under her breath as she sighed to herself. Grissom heard her, but didn't comment. Instead he tentatively touched her hand as it lay on the seat. He gave it a quick squeeze, lingering a moment before letting go.

She looked at him open mouthed; a question mark might as well have smacked her in the face. She turned back to staring out her window, wondering what planet she had just landed on.

Fifteen minutes and the ride was over, Grissom parking in an empty gravel lot. They were only about five minutes outside the Vegas casino district, middle class neighborhoods scattered around down the roads. Grass spanned a wide area from the road to twenty yards away. Passed that were grave markers and a giant marble sign reading "Desert Falls Cemetery", a large fountain spraying mists of water behind the sign.

Sara stepped out of the car, stretching her limbs. She still wasn't sure about the reasons behind this field trip, but hell if she wasn't going to find out. Her gaze travelled to Grissom as he walked up the field toward the cemetery. 'Well, if he wanted my attention, he's got it,' she thought as she followed his lead.

The two walked until they seemed to be directly in the middle of the burial plots. Grissom suddenly stopped and turned, startling Sara as she almost ran into him. He held his hands out to steady her, lightly holding her arms until he was sure she wasn't going to fall over. "Sorry," he looked at her bashfully, his arms dropping to his sides.

A beat. "So, uh...why exactly are we here?"

"Statistically speaking, if you cross referenced all cases dating back to when I first joined the Las Vegas Crime Lab you'd find that 47 of all victims we've dealt with are buried here," he gestured to the area, then paused. Looking up then back down at his hands,fidgeting with a napkin from the diner, his voice lowered, "I first started coming ten years ago. I was just curious to see how the other half lived --"

Sara interrupted, confused, "--the dead half?"

Grissom nodded thoughtfully, "Since my first visit I've made a habit of coming out every two or three years. Sometimes I can find the names of the newer victims we helped give peace of mind to. I'm not sure whether I should be happy to have helped or sad that I needed to in the first place."

A solemn look crossed his face. Sara put her right hand on his left shoulder, gazing out at the tombstones. Grissom noticed her gaze lock onto something, turning to follow her as she walked toward one of the graves. She squatted and traced a finger gently over the engraving.

Grissom went to stand next to her, Shakespeare bubbling in his mind as he recognized the inscribed name. "Death lies on her like an untimely frost; Upon the sweetest flower of all the field."

"Debbie Marlin," Sara stared at the marker. "You know...until that case I never bought into the whole 'everyone has a twin somewhere in the world' thing. But after...seeing her...," she looked up at Grissom, "I felt like everyone was avoiding me during the entire investigation. Like if they breathed on me too hard I'd suddenly become Debbie Marlin and Sara Sidle would just disappear."

Gil crouched down to meet her gaze. He grabbed one of her hands in his. "It was unsettling for all of us. Personally, sometimes my imagination would get the best of me and instead of seeing Debbie, I saw Sara. It was...difficult. And I don't think I was the only one - everyone else became just as acutely aware of how human the team really is. That anything could happen to any of us at a moment's notice."

He turned her hand over, looking at it and noticing where the faded scar from the lab explosion lay. His thumb brushed over it, tracing it from the middle of her hand to the beginning of her index finger.

Sara watched him, not sure how to react to this...what? What was it? Affection? Their eyes made contact, but Sara felt the need to look away. She dropped her head, smiling helplessly for a moment before standing up. Grissom followed, almost reluctantly letting go of her hand.

Sara crossed her arms as she walked back to the car. When Grissom was only few feet behind her she felt the need to speak. She hesitated while turning toward him, having trouble finding her voice. "I, uh, just wanted you to know - um...you're not too late. Well, maybe you're late, I mean--," she stopped, "...but not...overly - uh...late...," she tried to make sense of what she just said, but gave up, shaking her head in frustration. "Never-mind." She quickly got into the car, mentally kicking herself at her lack of finesse.

Grissom simply smiled at her, though she couldn't see from inside the car. He joined her without another word and they were off, heading back to the lab.

Next chapter ETA: Between Saturday, Nov. 26 and Saturday, December 3rd.


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